Living with chronic pain can affect more than the body. Pain can bring tension, stress, frustration, and exhaustion. Finding moments of calm can become an important part of learning how to live with discomfort.
In this mindfulness meditation, Dylan Serpas, Therapist at OmidInstitute.org, guides listeners through a gentle practice designed to encourage relaxation, comfort, safety, and self-compassion.
The meditation does not ask you to fight your pain. Instead, it invites you to slow down, notice your body, and approach discomfort with kindness.
🧘 Begin With Comfort
The meditation starts by finding a comfortable position.
You can sit, recline, or lie down, using pillows or other supports wherever your body needs them.
The goal is not to achieve a perfect position. It is simply to create a sense of being supported and comfortable in the present moment.
Dylan then guides slow, gentle breathing and encourages the listener to allow the muscles around the eyes, face, jaw, neck, and shoulders to soften.
There is no need to force relaxation.
You are simply giving your body permission to rest.
🌿 A Wave of Relaxation
One of the first visualizations is a warm wave of relaxation moving slowly through the body.
The meditation guides you from the top of your head through your:
😊 Face and jaw
🧣 Neck and shoulders
🤲 Arms and hands
🫀 Chest and back
🌿 Stomach
🦵 Hips and legs
🦶 Knees, ankles, and feet
With each breath, you are invited to imagine becoming softer and more supported.
The meditation uses the idea of breathing in calmness, safety, and love while breathing out tension and stress.
🔢 The 10-to-1 Relaxation Countdown
Dylan then counts slowly from 10 down to 1.
Each number focuses on another part of the body becoming more relaxed.
By the time the count reaches one, the listener is invited to imagine being in a calm place filled with comfort, safety, and love.
This gradual countdown gives the mind something simple to focus on while encouraging awareness of the body.
☁️ Let Your Thoughts Float Away
Thoughts do not have to disappear for you to practice mindfulness.
The meditation encourages you not to fight your thoughts or force your mind to become completely quiet.
Instead, you can simply notice a thought and imagine allowing it to float away like a cloud moving across the sky.
This creates a gentle shift from trying to control every thought to simply observing what is happening.
💗 The Love Love Healing Light
The meditation then introduces a beautiful visualization called the Love Love healing light.
The light represents:
💗 Love
🛡️ Safety
✨ Peace
💪 Strength
🌟 Hope
You are invited to imagine this warm light surrounding your entire body.
Then, if there is an area where you experience pain, tension, pressure, or discomfort, you can imagine allowing the light to surround that area with kindness and care.
Importantly, the meditation does not ask you to force the discomfort away.
Instead, it focuses on creating warmth, space, calmness, and ease.
🎛️ Turning Down the Discomfort Dial
One of the most interesting visualizations in the meditation is a special dial that represents the intensity of your discomfort.
You first notice where the dial is set without judging yourself.
Then you imagine slowly turning it down.
You do not have to turn it all the way to zero.
Even a small reduction is considered meaningful within the meditation.
The exercise encourages you to imagine that you can respond to discomfort with calmness rather than fighting against your body.
🌱 Working With Your Body, Not Against It
A powerful message in this meditation is the idea of working lovingly with your body.
Pain and discomfort can sometimes make us feel like our body is working against us.
This practice offers a different perspective.
Instead of fighting the sensation, you can pause, breathe, notice what you are experiencing, and give yourself permission to respond with patience and compassion.
The meditation encourages the listener to remember:
“I am more than my pain.”
That message can be especially meaningful for anyone whose chronic pain has started to affect their identity or daily life.
🧠 A Gentle Reminder for Brain Injury Survivors
For people living with brain injury, chronic pain can sometimes become part of a much larger recovery experience.
There may be physical discomfort alongside fatigue, sensory sensitivity, emotional changes, sleep difficulties, or cognitive challenges.
A mindfulness exercise may provide a quiet opportunity to pause.
It does not have to be complicated.
You can simply sit or lie somewhere comfortable, breathe slowly, and give yourself a few moments without demanding anything from yourself.
💗 Healing One Moment at a Time
The meditation closes with several compassionate reminders:
Your body deserves kindness.
Your mind deserves patience.
You do not need to rush your healing.
Calmness can support your ability to cope.
And you are more than your pain.
The meditation then gently brings you back to the present by counting from one to five, encouraging awareness of your breath, body, surroundings, fingers, and toes before opening your eyes.
💗 Love Love Brain Note
Mindfulness and guided relaxation can be supportive tools for some people living with chronic pain or brain injury.
This meditation is not a promise that pain will disappear, and it should not replace medical care or treatment from qualified healthcare professionals.
Instead, think of it as another tool you can explore.
You may find that a few quiet minutes of breathing, visualization, and self-compassion help you create a little more space between yourself and the discomfort you are experiencing.
You do not have to rush your recovery.
You can pause.
You can breathe.
You can be kind to yourself.
And you can take healing one moment at a time. 💗
🎥 Watch the Video
Watch the mindfulness meditation by Dylan Serpas, Therapist at OmidInstitute.org:
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Note: Every brain injury is different. This content is for education and support, not medical advice.
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